Yes, summer is the perfect time to relax and recharge. But, it’s also the perfect time to pick up a few new skills. Put that relaxed brain (and work schedule) to good use! How accomplished would you feel if, when September rolls around, you could open up your resume and add another skill to it? Very, we’re guessing.

Before you start stressing, know that we’re not asking you to sacrifice your summer nights to a droning professor, Instead, we’re suggesting devoting a few hours every week to advancing your career with an online class. (Online equals your couch and your sweats and an optional glass of wine.)

To make the process easier for you, we did two things. One, we only chose classes you can complete in less than 10 weeks (with some that can be completed in an hour). Two, we hand-curated this list to ensure it’s only courses that are valuable and interesting. The best part? All of them are free.

So, with no further ado, here are 43 classes you can sign up for today.

Programming

As of Fall 2014, the on-campus version of this course was the largest at Harvard. You’ll learn how to think algorithmically, solve programming problems efficiently, and become familiar with a number of languages including CSS, HTML, and PHP. The class is free, but you can add a HarvardX Verified Certificate for $90.

This course aims to help students develop high-quality, working software that solves real problems. Materials are designed for students with some programming experience, but if you have none and are motivated you will do fine.

No programming experience? No worries—“Programming for Everybody” is designed to be a first coding class and avoids all but the simplest mathematics. Anyone with moderate computer experience should be able to master the materials in this course.

Dash teaches HTML, CSS, and JavaScript by giving you step-by-step instructions on creating fun websites. We gave it a go, and loved how the user workspace lets you see the output of your code in real time.

This four-week course provides a fast-paced introduction to C and C++ programming languages. You’ll learn the required background knowledge, including memory management, pointers, object-oriented programming, and how to find bugs when you inevitably use any of those incorrectly.

Design

This tutorial for beginners will teach you the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop with easy-to-follow, practical examples. You’ll learn how to set up your work environment and perform the various editing functions that the program offers.

Want to create amazing graphics? This course first teaches you basic Illustrator techniques, then progresses on to more advanced topics such as types and panels, colors and patterns, and perspective and automation.

This course instructs you in how to use the powerful tools and techniques available in InDesign for creating high-quality layouts. You’ll gain the necessary skills to work with graphics and tables, add color and effects, and even make your layout interactive.

Why is that logo appealing? Why does that poster stand out? In this course, you’ll learn the theory behind creating attention-grabbing visuals and understand the basic principles and elements of design.

Master image manipulation and photographic re-touching with this course. You’ll be guided through the Photoshop user interface and acquire the basic techniques for editing and enhancing your photographs.

Level: Beginner

Duration: 2 Hours / 8 Lessons

Online Marketing

Learn the basics of social media in just two minutes a day with Buffer’s week-long email class. You’ll master everything from establishing a tone for your social media posts to understanding online marketing analytics.

Want to hear about how email marketing, blogging, and Facebook can create a business page that gets noticed by customers? If so, then this course is for you. Upon completion, you’ll understand the ins and outs of affiliate marketing and know the different methods that help increase traffic.

Copyblogger presents a systematic and simple approach to implementing effective online marketing with this email course. By registering, you’ll also score instant access to 14 ebooks on content marketing, copywriting, keyword research, and many more topics.

Created by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this course examines how digital tools—such as smartphones, the internet, and 3D printing—are revolutionizing the world of marketing. It’ll teach you how to use these tools to persuade customers to buy, distribute, and set the right prices for your products.

This training class will help you master the basics of Google Analytics and understand how to turbocharge your website performance. Apart from being able to interpret data, you’ll learn to translate the raw data into actionable insights.

If you’re struggling to meet your email marketing goals, look no further than HubSpot’s video series. The videos demonstrate everything from growing more effective organic email lists to achieving a higher open rate to strengthening your lead nurturing.

Level: Beginner

Duration: 5 Lessons

Communication

Think networking is more than a little intimidating? This email-based class could change your mind and turn you from a fearful networker to a fearless one. You’ll gain the communication skills crucial to networking, from perfecting your elevator pitch to making (smart) small talk with anyone.

Designed by the University of Washington, this course aims to help you become a more effective and confident public speaker. You’ll learn to design and deliver basic arguments, informative presentations, and persuasive, complex arguments all within 10 weeks.

Negotiation is the key to business success—after all, no business can survive without profitable contracts. After you finish this University of Michigan course (complete with interactive videos and a free app), you’ll know how to successfully negotiate.

Far too frequently, the people who have the most to say have the hardest time saying it. Geared toward experts (scientists, engineers, and other technical professionals), this course will help you effectively communicate with non-scientists to inform organizational decision-making. The class is free, but you can add a PurdueX Verified Certificate for $50.

Professional speechwriter Brent Kerrigan has crafted 10 articles designed to help beginners write better speeches. Some of the articles include, “How to Write for the Ear (Not the Eye)” and “One Speech Structure to Rule Them All.” Sign up and you’ll receive one new article each week.

Level: All Levels

Duration: 10 Lessons

Entrepreneurship

Initially given at Stanford in Fall 2014, this lecture designed by Y Combinator’s president Sam Altman features exceptional entrepreneurs like PayPal’s Peter Thiel, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky. You’ll learn the basics of user growth, fundraising, operations and management, and much more.

This University of Maryland course is created for aspiring and active entrepreneurs who want to understand how to secure funding for their company. Key questions answered within the four-week course include: “What kind of investors invest by stage and where to find them?” and “What are your fundraising options?”

Join almost 280,000 online students in learning the basics of the Customer Development Process. Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Steve Blank provides insight into the key steps to building a successful startup, ranging from gathering and evaluating customer feedback to calculating the direct and indirect costs for delivering your product.

This course provides a basic understanding of legal issues that corporations face during their existence. “Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager” starts by providing the basic building blocks of business law. The second half of the course examines issues that include: intellectual property, international trade, business disputes, and bankruptcy and reorganization.

Taught in Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, this class teaches students how businesses behave when strategic decisions are interdependent. Using the basic tools of game theory, you’ll analyze how organizations choose strategies to attain competitive advantages.

Built by Google, this course aims to help you materialize your game-changing idea and transform it into a product that you can build a business around. The class blends theory and practice to teach you product validation, UI/UX practices, Google’s Design Sprint, and the process for setting and tracking actionable metrics.

New businesses often start as side projects. But starting side projects is difficult in itself. This three-day, email-based class created by career experts from The Muse and Squarespace walks you through the steps needed to hone in on your idea and get the project out to the world.

Level: All Levels

Duration: 3 Lessons

Writing

Originally given at the University of California Berkeley, this course focuses on writing in different disciplines—in science and technology, in literature, and in the social sciences. You’ll learn to craft statements of purpose and develop a professional writing style.

Understanding the difference between writing for print and writing for the web starts with reading up on how readers behave differently online. This course teaches you how to accommodate the needs of online readers through web design, writing style, structure, and search engine optimization.

Effective writing is a powerful tool in the business environment. Learn to articulate your thoughts in a clear and concise manner that’ll allow your ideas to be better understood by readers. This course will also teach you to notice, correct, and avoid the most common writing pitfalls.

With more than 20,000 students and over 120 five-star reviews, the “Secret Sauce” course teaches you to superpower your business writing—whether it’s for cover letters, press releases, or sales emails—and make your blogs appear a thousand times more professional. This course is meant for professionals hoping to upgrade their writing skills, as well as businesses hoping to improve their corporate communications.

An introduction to writing prose for an online audience, this class teaches you to write essays that critically engage elements and aspects of contemporary American popular culture—and do so with a vivid personal voice.

This class helps journalists and others understand the basics of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and AP style. Upon completing the course, you’ll be able to identify and solve grammatical problems in your copy, pick the right word when choosing between tricky pairs (is it “who” or “whom?”), and use the correct AP style for addresses, money, and numbers.

“Becoming Digital” traces the change in practice, theory, and possibility as mechanical and chemical media are augmented or supplanted by digital media. Students will work through and write about the ethical, aesthetic, technical, and cultural problems raised by primary and secondary readings.

Level: Beginner

Duration: 32 Hours / 21 Lessons

New Language

ALISON’s free online course is a series of engaging video lessons that introduces beginners to various aspects of the French language. After taking this course, you’ll be able to use a range of French vocabulary, understand past, present, and future verb tenses, and become skilled in conversational French.

Are you planning a trip to a Mandarin-speaking country, or have you always wanted to understand some common Mandarin phrases? Basic Mandarin is a great skill to add to your resume, as many of today’s global business meetings are conducted in Mandarin Chinese. In this class, you’ll learn basic phrases for everyday life as well as the proper “tones” in Mandarin. The course is free, but you can add a MandarinX Verified Certificate for $50.

By watching these video episodes, you’ll learn Spanish (and experience its cultural diversity) through a quality drama-filled story. In addition, you’ll listen to an audio program integrated with the text and workbook.

BBC’s language lesson includes nine short sections on everyday topics like ordering a meal, asking for directions, saying where you’re from, and checking in at a hotel. You can watch and listen to the clips and have a look at the transcripts for extra practice.

About The Author

A board member of Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, Kat is either hosting inspiring founders or trekking across cities (Silicon Valley and London, anyone?) to discover the hottest startups. And, when she’s not putting together large-group gatherings for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Kat is planning food excursions to discover the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup in NYC. The only thing she loves almost as much as crafting content as an Editorial Intern at The Muse is studying content as an English Major at Columbia University. Say hi on Twitter @katxmoon.

8 Signs You May Be A Mystic

Mystic: a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

Mystics have been present throughout human history. Mysticism pre-dates organized religion, but it’s something that has been almost lost in the modern world.

1) Personal connection rather than texts and doctrines.

Mystics want to personally connect with spirituality, rather than relying on someone else’s spiritual experience. They like to hear about the experiences of others, but aren’t tied to them.

2) Always Questioning

By nature, mystics are iconoclasts. They ask questions that some think shouldn’t be asked. They wonder about the nature of humanity and the nature of existence. For this reason, mystics are often uncomfortable with systems of authority, especially religious ones. Mystics are the ones who challenge authority and the status quo. The mystic isn’t attached to old paradigms.

3) Relying on Intuition

Mystics have an ability to rely on insight and intuitive perceptions. These are essential for a spiritual seeker.

4) Seeing the Truth Within

Mystics measure successes on the spiritual path based on their own internal guidance, rather than some external forms and rituals. The only purpose of ritual is to trigger some insight within.

5) Looking up at the stars in wonder.

Does it take you out of yourself when you look up at the sky? Even if you aren’t thinking about the vastness of the cosmos, this is still a sign of the mystic worldview. This means you’re connecting to deeper truths in the universe.

6) Feeling a lot of empathy, often too much.

The mystic has a tendency to transcend the ego, so the boundaries between Self and Other are a little more thin.

7) Connection to nature.

A feeling of relaxation when you are away from civilization is normal for the mystic. Not only because of the isolation, but also because the wonders of the natural world are manifested before us when we aren’t distracted by the city.

8) Devotion to Truth.

A love of facts and knowledge, as opposed to opinion and conjecture. A real seeker of the truth is rare

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Shut Eye Boosts Your Creative Capabilities

Sleep

Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan. A lack of sleep is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging.

Sleep is connected to successful weight management. Your health is affected by your sleep, a lack of sleep puts added stress on your body and effects your cardiovascular system. Sleeplessness also affects reaction time and decision making. A lack of sleep can contribute to depression. A good night’s sleep can help a moody person decrease their anxiety. You get more emotional stability with good sleep.

A good nights sleep is an invitation to your muse.

In addition to consolidating memories, or making them stronger, your brain appears to reorganize and restructure them, which may result in more creativity as well. Get a good night’s sleep before getting out the easel and paintbrushes or the pen and paper. Researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process.

What Will Help You Improve Your Sleeping Habits?

Stop drinking caffeine after 2pm.

Avoid a big, heavy meal right before bed.

Even though a nightcap may help you relax and fall asleep faster, it’ll make the second half of your sleep cycle restless and unsatisfying. Have your drink at dinnertime (6pm) so it wears off before bed.

Doing anything that raises your body temperature too close to bedtime may actually hinder you from falling asleep.

Bright light too close to bedtime can make it hard to fall asleep. Low lighting signals the biological clock that it’s time to wind down, while bright light signal the brain to remain alert. Try low wattage lightbulbs.

Typing in bed can wind you up, so when you do unplug, it will be harder to fall asleep. Disconnect an hour before bed, turn your smartphone off, and put any gadgets on an out-of-reach dresser or in another room so you won’t be able to grab it if you get the late-night urge.

The bedroom should be for sleep and sex only, anything else is clutter and has the ability to signal your brain and body that it needs to be alert. Make your bedroom your sanctuary for love and rest.

Surprising Health Benefits Of Sleep

Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting creativity and mood or banishing under-eye circles. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more.

“Sleep used to be kind of ignored, like parking our car in a garage and picking it up in the morning,” says David Rapoport, M.D., director of the NYU Sleep Disorders Program.

Not anymore. Here are some health benefits researchers have discovered about a good night’s sleep.

Improve Memory

Your mind is surprisingly busy while you snooze. During sleep you can strengthen memories or “practice” skills learned while you were awake (it’s a process called consolidation).

“If you are trying to learn something, whether it’s physical or mental, you learn it to a certain point with practice,” says Dr. Rapoport, who is an associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center. “But something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better.”

In other words if you’re trying to learn something new — whether it’s Spanish or a new tennis swing — you’ll perform better after sleeping.

Live Longer

Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan — although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.) In a 2010 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night. Sleep also affects quality of life.

“Many things that we take for granted are affected by sleep,” says Raymonde Jean, M.D., director of sleep medicine and associate director of critical care at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. “If you sleep better, you can certainly live better. It’s pretty clear.”

Curb Inflammation

Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that people who get less sleep — six or fewer hours a night — have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more. A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night. People who have sleep apnea or insomnia can have an improvement in blood pressure and inflammation with treatment of the sleep disorders, Dr. Rapoport says.

Be A Winner

If you’re an athlete, there may be one simple way to improve your performance: sleep. A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to sleep at least 10 hours a night for seven to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and had less daytime fatigue and more stamina. The results of this study reflect previous findings seen in tennis players and swimmers.

Improve Your Grades

Children between the ages of 10 and 16 who have sleep disordered breathing, which includes snoring, sleep apnea, and other types of interrupted breathing during sleep, are more likely to have problems with attention and learning, according to a 2010 study in the journal Sleep. This could lead to “significant functional impairment at school,” the study authors wrote.

In another study, college students who didn’t get enough sleep had worse grades than those who did.

A lack of sleep can result in ADHD-like symptoms in kids, Dr. Rapoport says.

“Kids don’t react the same way to sleep deprivation as adults do,” he adds. “Whereas adults get sleepy, kids tend to get hyperactive.”

A 2009 study in the journal Pediatrics found that children ages seven and eight who got less than about eight hours of sleep a night were more likely to be hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive.

“We diagnose and measure sleep by measuring electrical changes in the brain,” Dr. Rapoport says. “So not surprisingly how we sleep affects the brain.”

Have A Healthy Weight

If you are thinking about going on a diet, you might want to plan an earlier bedtime too.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat — 56 percent of their weight loss — than those who were sleep deprived, who lost more muscle mass. (They shed similar amounts of total weight regardless of sleep.)

Dieters in the study also felt more hungry when they got less sleep.

“Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain,” Dr. Rapoport says. “When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite.”

Lower Stress

When it comes to our health stress and sleep are nearly one and the same — and both can affect cardiovascular health.

“Sleep can definitely reduce levels of stress, and with that people can have better control of their blood pressure,” Dr. Jean says. “It’s also believed that sleep effects cholesterol levels, which plays a significant role in heart disease.”

Avoid Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2009 that being tired accounted for the highest number of fatal single-car run-off-the-road crashes due to the driver’s performance — even more than alcohol!

“Sleepiness is grossly underrated as a problem by most people, but the cost to society is enormous,” Dr. Rapoport says. “Sleeplessness affects reaction time and decision making.”

Insufficient sleep for just one night can be as detrimental to your driving ability as having an alcoholic drink.

Steer Clear Of Depression

Sleeping well means more to our overall well-being than simply avoiding irritability.

“A lack of sleep can contribute to depression,” Dr. Jean says. “A good night’s sleep can really help a moody person decrease their anxiety. You get more emotional stability with good sleep.”

If you think the long hours put in during the week are the cause of your anxiety or impatience, Dr. Rapoport warns that sleep cannot necessarily be made up during the weekend.

“If you sleep more on the weekends, you simply aren’t sleeping enough in the week,” he says. “It’s all about finding a balance.

There May Be an Ancient Earth Inside Earth, Say Harvard Scientists

A TEAM OF HARVARD SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE REMNANTS OF AN ANCIENT EARTH, DATING TO THE TIME ANOTHER PLANET COLLIDED WITH OURS TO PRODUCE THE MOON, MAY STILL BE LODGED DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH’S MANTLE

If you thought it was a trip to see the Earth from space, then wait until you get a load of this: A team of scientists from Harvard University believe that have found evidence that an ancient Earth exists inside the Earth.

The team believes that a previously unexplained isotopic ratio from deep within the Earth might be a signal from material from before the Earth collided with another planet-sized body, which led to the creation of the Moon. This might be an echo of an ancient Earth that existed 4.5 billion years ago, prior to the proposed collision.

The current favored theory says that the Moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth collided with a mass the size of Mars, dubbed “Theia.” This theory states that the heat generated by the collision would have melted the whole planet before some of the debris spun off to create the Moon.

But now, the team at Harvard, led by Associate Professor Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, believe that they’ve found evidence to support that only part of the Earth melted, and that an ancient part still exists within the Earth’s mantle.

According to Professor Mukhopadhyay: “The energy released by the impact between the Earth and Theia would have been huge, certainly enough to melt the whole planet. But we believe that the impact energy was not evenly distributed throughout the ancient Earth. This means that a major part of the impacted hemisphere would probably have been completely vaporized, but the opposite hemisphere would have been partly shielded, and would not have undergone complete melting.”

The team analyzed the ratios of noble gas isotopes from deep within the Earth’s mantle and compared the results to isotope ratios closer to the surface. They found that 3He to 22Ne ratio from the shallow mantle is significantly higher than the equivalent ratio deep within the mantle.

Professor Mukhopadhyay remarked: “This implies that the last giant impact did not completely mix the mantle and there was not a whole mantle magma ocean.”

Further evidence comes from analysis of the 129-Xenon to 120-Xenon ratio. Material brought to the surface from the deep mantle has a lower ratio than what’s normally found near the surface. Because 129-Xenon is produced by the radioactive decay of 129-Iodine, the isotopes place the formation age of the ancient section of mantle to within the first 100 million years of Earth’s history.

“The geochemistry indicates that there are differences between the noble gas isotope ratios in different parts of the Earth, and these need to be explained. The idea that a very disruptive collision of the Earth with another planet-sized body, the biggest event in Earth’s geological history, did not completely melt and homogenize the Earth challenges some of our notions on planet formation and the energetics of giant impacts. If the theory is proven correct, then we may be seeing echoes of the ancient Earth, from a time before the collision,” said Professor Mukhopadhyay.

Professor Richard Carlson of the Carnegie Institution Department of Terrestrial Magnetism stated: “This exciting result is adding to the observational evidence that important aspects of Earth’s composition were established during the violent birth of the planet and is providing a new look at the physical processes by which this can occur.”

The findings of the team at Harvard coincide with a German team’s findings supporting the theorythat the Moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago after a catastrophic collision with a planet-sized mass.

Both the Harvard and German teams presented their findings to the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in November.